1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrically powered food processing equipment, generally, and, more specifically, to a food ingredient grinder and ingredient hopper and methods of grinding food ingredient, such as coffee beans, and of otherwise maintaining, using and cleaning the food ingredient grinder.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Food ingredient grinders of the type designed to grind food ingredient, such as coffee beans, are well known. Modern coffee grinders, such as the FETCO GR Series coffee grinders sold by Food Equipment Technologies Company, Inc., assignee of the present invention, have a support frame to which are mounted at least one ingredient hopper for containing a supply of the ingredient, i.e. whole coffee beans that have not been ground, or are unground. In the case of the FETCO GR-1 and GR-3 coffee grinders, there is only one hopper, respectively, having capacities of six and twenty pounds of coffee beans to be ground in preselected amounts from 1-3 pounds. The beans are dropped out of an outlet at the bottom of the hopper during a preselected time period that an electronically controlled closure of a hopper outlet opening, or hopper outlet, at the bottom of the hopper is opened. The coffee beans fall through the hopper until the approximate amount of preselected quantity of coffee beans has passed through the opening.
In the case of the FETCO GR-2 coffee grinder, there are two separate hoppers that have separately controlled closures and which are capable of mixing the beans of different types of coffee beans in the same grind or to alternatively and selectively grind different types of coffee, such as caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee beans. In such case, the whole coffee beans are passed through a Y-shaped manifold with two inlets, one from each of the two separate hoppers, that passes the mixture through a single manifold outlet opening, or manifold outlet, through a shared, common input to a shared, common grinding chamber. An electronically controlled gating system fixedly mounted within the housing is used to selectively open one or the other of the two hoppers to deposit coffee beans into the grinding chamber. In the case of a single hopper, there is no need for a manifold or a gating system and the coffee beans pass directly into the grinding chamber through a direct, or I-shaped, hopper outlet conduit that is likewise fixedly mounted within the housing.
The coffee beans pass from the I-shaped hopper outlet conduit or pass from the Y-shaped manifold outlet, to the grinding chamber within which are contained intermeshing grinding blades, or grinding wheels, that receive whole coffee beans at the upper inlet to the chamber to be ground. The whole beans are ground by the rotating grinding blades and then are passed through the grinding blades to a grinding chamber outlet, or grinder outlet.
Beneath the grinder outlet is located a brew basket with a conforming filter paper within which is received the freshly ground coffee. The brew basket is removed after the grinding cycle has ended and after all of the preselected coffee is contained within the brew basket. The brew basket is then removed from the grinder and attached to a coffee brewer where hot water is passed through the freshly ground coffee to brew hot coffee. Once one brew basket is removed from the grinder another can take its place and another grinding cycle can commence
A portion of the front wall of the housing, which also forms a wall of the hopper, has a plastic, transparent or translucent window. The window enables the operator to view when the hopper is low and needs to be refilled with more beans without having to open the hopper lid and to view inside to do so. The hoppers are permanently mounted within, and integrally formed together, in part, with a housing of the grinder assembly within which all of the elements of the coffee grinder are protectively contained. Accordingly, the hoppers must be filled in place within the housing by opening a lid covering the open top of the hopper, lifting a bag or other container of coffee beans and dumping them into the open top of the hopper.
If it is desired to change the type of coffee contained within a hopper, say from mocha java coffee to Kona coffee, then the hopper must be emptied of the one before the other is introduced, unless it is desired to mix them together. In the case of any one hopper, it is not possible to change the coffee that is introduced into the grinding chamber from that one hopper without first having the one hopper emptied. There is no convenient way of emptying the hopper except by grinding the coffee until all of the beans in the hopper have been ground. Consequently, in the case of a single hopper system, it is also not possible to easily change from one type of coffee to another. In such case, separate grinders are needed for grinding different types of coffees that are required during the same period.
Coffee dust and other coffee constituents from the grinding process and also from the beans themselves stick to the walls of the hopper. Accordingly, even when the beans of one type are removed from the hopper and another type added in its place, there is still some residual coffee of the one type or types previously contained within the hopper that can contaminate the current coffee contained within the hopper. There is no way of conveniently cleaning the hopper. Disadvantageously, while the hopper is being cleaned, the grinding assembly cannot be used. With the hopper in place over the manifold and the grinding chamber, there is no convenient access to these elements for operator cleaning or operator service. The hoppers are in the way and can only be removed with the use of tools needed to disconnect the hopper from the outlet closure gate or disconnecting the linkage with the gate control solenoid that is connected with the outlet closure gate.